Sigourney Weaver rules out a return as Alien's Ellen Ripley

Sigourney Weaver has said the "ship has sailed" on reprising her role as Ellen Ripley in another Alien movie.

Weaver first played Ripley in Ridley Scott's sci-fi epic Alien back in 1979, and has since reprised the character in Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997).

Fans had hoped Ripley would make a return in the franchise's newest instalment, which is currently in production, but Weaver has no interest in returning and is happy to leave her iconic role behind.

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"There are all kinds of younger actors taking this kind of role. And there was an Alien [film] that I really wanted to do with Neill Blomkamp and we didn't get to do that, but, you know, that ship has sailed," she told Total Film.

"I'm very happy doing what I'm doing. I put in my time in space!"

Weaver, who received an Oscar nomination for her role as Ripley in James Cameron's Aliens, continued: "I think Ridley has a lot to do with [the longevity of Ellen Ripley and Alien].

"They made Ripley a woman, without making her this helpless creature. Because I think I was very lucky.

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"These were men who were creating this woman character, but they liked and respected strong women."

While the new film is part of the Alien franchise, it's set to be a standalone entry which follows a group of young people who are under siege from the Xenomorphs and their offspring.

The untitled film is being directed by Fede Alvarez (Don't Breathe, Evil Dead), and will star Industry's David Jonsson, Shadow and Bone's Archie Renaux, The Batman's Spike Fearn, Fish Tank's Aileen Wu and Mare of Easttown's Cailee Spaeny.

A release date for the new Alien film has not been announced yet.

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Iona Rowan

Content Production Intern, Digital Spy

After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022. In this role, Iona writes across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. During her time at Digital Spy, she has interviewed multiple Love Island stars, reported from the Black Adam red carpet and, most recently, interviewed the cast of Disney’s live-action The Little Mermaid.